The past is another country
by girlcalledsun
Summary: Some short stories from Dom's past written to tie in with In the heat of battle but will stand alone. They get more romantic and angsty as they go on!
1. Rider Love, there's not enough

**These are some little one shots I wrote to help me sort out characters for "In the heat of battle…" but they do stand alone. **

**Rider love, there's not enough of it about…**

It was that time, not very long before Sir Raoul would take on "The Girl" as his squire, that Klair of Marsh's Hall was transferred to her probationary Rider Group. Some said she was very lucky, being assigned to such a prestigious group, and to go straight into action. Others said it was really the thin end of the stick, hurled into action in the Commander's own group. She herself was undecided. Today, as the mud stuck and the bugs bit, she was tempted to go with the latter view.

"Klair!" Buri's bark cut through the dank afternoon, "Left flank clear?"

"Yes, Commander!" Klair called back. There had not been so much of a sniff of the bandits on this extended sweep through a dense, unpopulated section of the Royal Forest.

"Right, back to the Palace, we'll need to report before we can plan further, and check what the Own have found on their sweeps. Group Askew, formation, follow me!" Buri and her stocky bay pony trotted down the faint game track, leading her Rider group.

"She'll be in better humour when we're back at the Palace." The rider behind Klair said softly. Klair looked behind her, and was almost decapitated as her pony blithely continued under a low branch his rider wasn't in the right direction to be aware of.

"Ooof," Klair coughed, damp pine needles filling her mouth. She shook her head, checked ahead for more devious branches, and turned again to face her comrade.

"You're not laughing." She stated. The young man behind her was a picture of innocence, his coffee coloured curls flopping over his open face and frank hazel eyes. He was as grubby as she, with smears of mud over exposed skin and clothes, although admittedly he had less greenery attached to his person.

"Of course not. You're doing well, for a newbie. Buri hasn't bawled you out yet, and she's been in a pretty foul mood this sweep."

"It's been pretty rough for us all. I know I'll be more than pleased to get a hot meal at the main camp, and some more insect-repelling potion." Klair said. She dropped her pony back to ride alongside the other Rider. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name, I'm sure I must have been told, but it's been hectic."

He chuckled. "That's ok. I'm Alec. Of Cavall. I try not to advertise that second part." He held out a hand, and they shook in mock formality, from their jogging ponies' backs.

"Klair of Marsh's Hall. Yeah, I know it's sometimes not so good to be _too_ noble in the Riders…" A thought struck Klair. "Cavall?" She asked sharply. "Like my Lord Wyldon the training master?"

"Ah, Daddy dearest. So proud of me, associating with _female _warriors and progressives."

"You must be a pretty good warrior, placed in Group Askew," Klair offered. "He must be proud of you."

"Ah," Alec flapped a hand at her, "my fighting skills, my lovely lady, are not the issue. Any Neanderthal can bend a bow. More like my social skills; let's just say he thought an environment with some of the fairer sex present might do me more, ahem, _good, _than the exclusively masculine environment of the pages and squires, or the Own." He sighed theatrically, and a little wistfully.

_Ahh, _Klair thought. _That's why cousin Franklin was so pleased about being set to the King's Own to "be amongst real men." You learn new things every day._

"So why will Buri be so pleased to be back with the main group?" She asked, trying to change the tract of the conversation.

"I know you're new, but as a member of a scout group, you are trained to be observant; surely you've noticed her and Raoul?" Alec's eyes gleamed at the prospect of a fresh audience for his gossip.

"Rough ground ahead!" The call came down the column, and the ponies slowed to a walk. Klair dropped her Bazil behind Alec's roan mare, and leaned forward to whisper to him.

"Her and _Sir Raoul?_ I always thought, the rumour was, well, that he was…"

"Darling, I really don't think he is. Have a look when they're plotting together."

"Well." Klair said. "Label me updated and send me for filing." She slowed Bazil a touch; he was walking so close to Alec's mare that a kick might be forthcoming. "Any other gems of wisdom I might benefit from knowing?"

Alec carefully checked the path ahead for any low lying foliage before he swung round in his saddle to address her. "Well, I did hear you appreciate male company…"

"Does everybody know every detail of my past? I was young and wild, I'm not like that any more. I'm here to be the best soldier I can be, that's all I want now." She flushed; she was used to the jibes and mutters behind her back, but they still angered her.

"Of course. But, if you ever get… lonely…" Alec waggled his perfectly arched eyebrows at her.

Klair rolled her eyes at him.

"…well, go and visit the charming Corporal Domitan of Third Company. To my never-ending disappointment, he an unreformed ladies' man." Alec sighed. "We all have our burdens to bear."

"Domitan? The tall, blue-eyed one?" Klair asked before she could stop herself.

"Ah-ha! You have taste, my new best friend!" Alec crowed back at her.

"What's all that noise?" Buri's dulcet tones floated back. "It's just as well we know the enemy isn't here, or we could thank you two for a selection of arrows in our backs! Cavall, Marsh's Hall, guard duty the moment we get back!"

"Yes, Commander." Klair and Alec chorused together. They swapped a glance, and continued to ride in silence. Klair, though, was wondering if, maybe, it was time to start putting the past behind her, and if this Corporal Domitan might be the place to start…

**There's a few more to follow, Dom's side of the story as well as Klair.**


	2. The past is another country

**The past is another country.**

"I've never seen such a beautiful Beltane night."

"All the more beautiful for you being part of it."

She laughed, eyes glittering in the light from the nearby bonfires. "You, Corporal Domitan, are incorrigible. Ten out of ten for effort, but only six for content, as you lack originality."

"But do you appreciate my efforts, Klair?" Dom smiled back at this petite woman, who has waltzed into his life six months ago and claimed his heart for her own.

"_Right, lads, we'll have Sergeant Osbern's squad and Sergeant Mikal's squad to join me and the Rider group on this bandit sweep." Raoul had called that morning in the Own's stableyard. "Give you a chance to try out that new corporal, Mikal!" _

_Dom had flushed a little as the rest of the men in his squad had chuckled at him. Eight months in the King's Own and a corporal already! He had taken to it like a duck to water, loving his new career, his comrades; Dom was more content than he could ever remember, and felt his life was full. Little did he know how much fuller it was to become._

"_Here, Dom." Lerant elbowed him. "See the Rider girl to the left of the group? On the dun pony?" Lerant and Dom had hit it off surprisingly well, for all they were complete opposites; Dom's good cheer and easy going manner seemed to balance and soothe the quick tempered new standard bearer. "Her with the dark hair?"_

_Dom tightened his horse's girth and peered over. "Well, sort of, I think I can see who you mean. Is she pretty?"_

"_Well, yes, but that's Klair of Marsh's Hall…"_

"_A noble in the Riders? Not many of them. Hand me that other saddle bag."_

"_Here." Lerant passed the small leather pack. "She's a noble, yeah, but she's the one who was expelled from that convent; her parents were at their wits' end, almost disowned her, but she joined the Riders and passed training top of her year…look, she's moved, can you see her now?"_

_Dom sighed, finished buckling strap and took another look._

"_She took Commander Buri out in unarmed combat training a few months ago. What do you think of that?" Lerant scowled; his news wasn't getting the desired response. "Well, Dom? Dom, are you listening? Dom?" He elbowed his friend again, who was standing, mouth half open, leaning on his grey gelding. "Well?"_

_Dom had seen prettier ladies, he must have done, in all their court finery. There was some thing about this compact brunette, though, the grace in even the smallest movement, the twinkle in her dark eyes, the play of laughter over her delicate features whilst she talked to her fellow Riders. As he looked, the corporal became aware of a hollow ache gnawing at his gut and his chest. There was also a sensation in his arm; someone was prodding him. He remember how to operate his mouth. "Yeah, Lerant. That's great. She _is_ really pretty, isn't she…"_

"_Eldorne! Masbolle! Stop gossiping and gawking like a pair of fishwives and mount up. Good grief, is this all I have to work with? These bandits will be able to have a lie in with the two of you on the job. MOVE!" Sergeant Mikal's bellow assaulted the young soldiers' eardrums with almost physical force. As they hurried onto their horses and into formation behind Raoul, Dom took care to have the Riders in clear view. He watched this Klair, this vision, this paragon…Domitan was not a stranger to the fairer sex, but no woman had ever before inspired this sort of emotion in him. The young man wondered if this was love. _

"Domitan, do you remember that first mission we were on together? Group Askew were on secondment to the Own, after those bandits in the Lake Country?" He gripped her small hand in his large one, and steered their amble away from the main bonfires and festivities.

"How could I forget?" He loved that she always used his full name, never contracted to Dom. He loved the way his name sounded in her voice.

"There was still quite a bit of gossip floating about, concerning the convent and so on. You never bothered though, you took me at face value, never worried what I may or may not have done in the past." She pushed a lock of shining chestnut hair behind her ear. "You did the same with Lerant, too, didn't worry about his family. It's one of your best traits, Domitan." He squeezed her hand a little tighter, and looked down into her brown eyes. The romance of the moment was slightly spoiled by Klair tripping over a tussock of grass, but as Dom caught her and managed to progress from handholding to an arm about her shoulders, he didn't mind.

"Well, the past is another country, Klair. Who you were and what you did there doesn't matter. It's the choices you make here in the present that matter."

"You don't know how good it is to hear somebody say that and mean it, Dom. I eventually proved myself in the Riders, but I'm never been _that girl_ with you, even to begin with." She untangled herself from his arm, to resettle her cloak, and folded her arms. "You're very special; loyal. Even some of my oldest friends have nothing to do with me now.

They walked for a little longer, comfortable in their silence. They wandered towards the river, and stopped to look down from the hill the palace stood upon, across the rich, flat farmland.

"The stars are clear tonight; couldn't see them before for the light of the bonfires, but now we're out here they're pretty bright." He mused. "Klair, can you see the Cat?"

"Where?"

"At the foot of the Goddess."

"I can't make out the Goddess…" She gazed up at the sky. The stars shone like diamonds strewn over black velvet. "Can you see her?"

"I'm looking _a_ Goddess." Dom was suddenly very close to Klair, and murmured very quietly into her ear. She trembled at the heat in his voice, and his strength as he took her in his arms. He leaned down and kissed her, warm lips and breath caressing her mouth, her neck, trailing a path of kisses down her jawbone. She couldn't help but return his touches, hands wandering through his dark curls, across broad shoulders; he held on tighter and lifted her small frame up so their eyes were level.

"Klair, I want you to know that I love you." He spoke slowly and clearly, for this was the most important thing he had ever said in his life.

Klair bit her lip, which still tasted of his kisses. He was not the first man to profess his love to her; but she thought he was the first to mean it. She didn't know what to say. She just gazed into those blue eyes, felt herself falling into those azure depths even as she was aware of the pressure of his powerful arms holding her up. She opened her mouth to speak, words racing to leave…

_We're just friends…I'm not sure I want a relationship…I don't want to hurt you…it's not you, it's me…_

but too quickly Dom sealed her lips with another kiss, and not a word escaped. As the kiss deepened and lengthened, she thought she would explain tomorrow, and enjoy today whilst it lasted. It had been so long, and the attention felt so good. They fell to the fragrant grass, and no more words were said, nor were they needed. Only the impassive stars looked on.

**My first go at real fluff...hope you like it.**


	3. A way to pass the time

**A way to pass the time**

Domitan of Masbolle was deeply excited. Klair of Marsh's Hall, the woman he loved, was due at this small and intimate eating house any second, and there was a very special question he wanted to ask her. He was fingering the delicate ring, a family heirloom, in his pocket, when he saw her walk through the door.

She always looked a little more beautiful every time he saw her. The cold winter weather leant a rosy tint to her normally pale complexion, and made her dark brown eyes even brighter than normal; to Dom, they twinkled like stars. He enjoyed watching her, her easy lithe motion, her grace; he enjoyed the anticipation of the moment to come, not too soon in the future, when she would see, him, catch his eye and smile.

Only this time, as she turned from handing her heavy coat to a maid, Klair met Dom's eye for a second, and then looked down, making her way over to the corner booth without looking up from the floor. Dom's heart tightened in his chest; some instinct, some sixth sense, told him something was very wrong. It would not take him long to find out just how wrong things might be.

"Domitan." Klair stated his name as she slid onto the bench opposite. "You look well."

"And you?" he replied, for want of something more stimulating to say.

"I'm wonderful, Domitan, really I am. In fact, I couldn't be better." He noticed hot excitement flaming in her eyes; realised the colour touching her normally pallid cheeks was not just due to the weather. Dom felt as if someone had reached up through the bench with a hand of ice and was in the process of relieving him of several vital internal organs.

"I had a meeting today, with Buri and Baron George Cooper," she continued breathlessly, "about some special scouting missions."

"George Cooper? He's nothing to do with the Riders." Dom couldn't keep the sharp tone out of his voice.

"No, that's the point." Klair was too excited to notice. "This is separate, a special task for real _experts_." She pronounced the word with relish. "And they asked me to join, Buri said I was the finest scout tracker the Riders had ever produced!" You could have bounced rocks off her conceit. Dom realised, for the first time, that his love was a hard, prideful woman.

"And you accepted." It wasn't a question. "When do you go?"

"In two days, for extra training and briefing." She caught herself, looked at him properly for the first time since sitting down. "You don't sound very pleased for me, Domitan." Those small lips, so sweet to kiss, were pulled into a somewhat sour pout.

"Of course I'm not! It means you're leaving, going away Gods know where, in all sorts of danger, and I don't know when I'll see you again!

She met his frantic eyes. "It means you'll never see me again, in all likelihood. This is a permanent and top secret posting. I can't just drop in to say hello."

"Say hello?" He bellowed. "I love you Klair, and you seem inconvenienced by the fact you have to tell me you're leaving!" There were some glances from diners at adjacent tables.

"Shut up!" Klair hissed, her small features hard and tight in the candlelight as she leaned across the table. "This.." she waved a hand in a frustration of expression "this…_us_…is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things I don't know where to start. I will protect the safety of the whole kingdom, and you are upset about the end of an affair?"

"An affair." Dom felt the anger drain away. "That's all it ever was to you, wasn't it? Not love, not even friendship. Just a way to pass the time."

"And where's the harm in that?" She caught his eye this time, and his large, broad palm in her delicate fingers. "I had good times. I know _you _did."

"Good times." Dom repeated, dully. His other hand enveloped the now not-engagement ring in his breeches pocket. That was one way to describe the love of his life, this woman he desired more than air, than food, than life itself. "I'll never forget them." he stated with absolute honesty.

"Well, that's good. Remember me fondly, Domitan." As Klair stood to go, he could see the relief in her, in her movements and expressions. She had negotiated a distasteful but necessary chore, and now she was free to go on with the business of being Klair; to her, the most important job in the world.

"I will remember you, Klair." Dom stood, consciously not offering a handshake, or Gods forbid, a kiss. He knew a kiss from her would have him back on his knees, begging her to stay.

"Bye, Dom." He watched her go. When he followed suite a moment or two later, the fine wrought ruby engagement ring remained, lying on the scrubbed oak of the dinning table. It wasn't visible, but he had left his heart there, too.


End file.
